Doubleheader Recap: Twins Split With Cardinals, Dobnak Struggles On Short Rest

[David Youngs]

The Bomba Squad flexed its muscles in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in St. Louis, scoring seven runs in seven innings on the way to a 7-3 victory. Randy Dobnak struggled in the night cap, giving up five earned runs in less than three innings as the Twins lost 6-4.Game 1: Twins 7, Cardinals 3

Box Score

Berríos: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Home Runs: Donaldson (3), Cruz (14), Sanó (10)

Top 3 WPA: Donaldson .274, Arráez .116, Berríos .110

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: Winchart1.png

 

Game 2: Cardinals 6, Twins 4

Box Score

Dobnak: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Home Runs: Rooker (1), Cruz (15)

Bottom 3 WPA: Dobnak -.436, Rosario -.109, Adrianza -.077

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

Download attachment: Winchart2.png

 

In Memory of 20

The Twins and Cardinals played a one day double header series with a large ‘20’ etched into the dirt behind second base at Busch Stadium. The symbol was in honor of legendary Cardinal outfielder Lou Brock, who passed away at the age of 81 on Sunday. The ‘20’ was fittingly carved out behind second base, the destination that Brock stole so many times. He swiped 938 bags in his career, second only to Ricky Henderson.

 

Brock had moments of his career with ties to the state of Minnesota. Before beginning his MLB career, Brock played for the former Chicago Cubs affiliate St. Cloud Rox (now Northwoods League) in 1961, where he won the 1961 Northern League Batting Title. Following his retirement in 1979 Brock served as a spring training baserunning coach for a handful of teams, including the 1987 Twins.

 

Game 1: 100% Chance of Rain in the Gateway to the West

There was nothing but rain and ‘Sano’ in the St. Louis forecast as the Twins stormed to a 7-3 win over the Cardinals in game one of Tuesday’s twin bill. Josh ‘Bringer of Rain’ Donaldson, Nelson Cruz, and Miguel Sano all homered in a game that featured a return of the ‘Bomba Squad’ and a confident outing from Jose Berrios.

 

Donaldson got the party started with a three run shot in the 3rd inning. Following singles by Luis Arraez and Willians Astudillo Donaldson punched a 1-2 Carlos Martinez Slider to left field for his first 'pull' homer of the year, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.

 

Astudillo and Arraez continued their successful day at the plate in the 4th, as ‘La Tortuga’ doubled to center field and scored on the next play thanks to an Arraez single. Astudillo has hit .439 in 7 at-bats in his short 2020 campaign.

 

It looked like the floodgates were set to be open in the 5th as Nelson Cruz smacked a leadoff dinger to put the Twins up 5-0. Cruz now has 14 long balls on the year (5 of which have come in double headers), only trailing Mike Trout and Fernando Tatis Jr. who lead the league with 15.

 

The Cardinals mounted a surge in the 6th, as Kolten Wong walked and Tommy Edman launched a Berrios curveball to right that left the nest, pulling St. Louis within three. Following a single to center Paul Goldschmidt brought the score to 5-3 thanks to an abysmal blocking attempt by Astudillo, a single by Brad Miller, and a wild pitch by Matt Wisler.

 

Just when things looked like they might crash and burn Miguel Sano came to the rescue with a two run shot to left field to put the Twins up 7-3 for good.

 

There’s our Ace!

Jose Berrios pitched a rock solid 5 innings, giving up three runs on four hits. One of those runs came while Wisler was on the mound thanks to a 'blockable' pitch that ricocheted off of Astudillo’s gear and a wild pitch that scored Paul Goldschmidt.

 

Jose Berrios is now 4-3 on the year. Did he look like an ace today? Maybe, but that’s for you to decide. He pitched dominantly, was confident in his breaking ball, and put his team in a position to win, that’s for sure. Add on the solid bullpen performance from Wisler and Sergio Romo and there aren’t too many things to complain about from this game (minus Astudillo behind the dish).

 

Game 2: Third Inning Thumper

Despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead the Twins were unable to recover from a fractured third inning in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, dropping a 6-4 contest.

 

Walks will Haunt

Randy Dobnak suffered his rockiest start of the year falling victim to a pitcher's worst enemy: the walk. After a solid first two innings Dobnak couldn't make it through the third, exiting the game after walking four batters and giving up five earned runs in the third inning. Two of those walks were hit batters (Matt Wieters and Tommy Edman), something that Dobnak hadn’t done all season.

 

In one of the worst innings the Twins have seen all season, Dobnak’s only outs consisted of a Paul Goldschmidt strikeout and a force out at home thanks to a Tyler O’Neil ground ball. Earlier in the inning the Twins had a chance for a putout at home thanks to a Brad Miller ground ball up the first base line. Unfortunately for the Twins, catcher Ryan Jeffers’ foot was not on the plate, and base runner Harrison Hader was ruled safe.

 

Following Tyler O’Neil’s fielders choice Baldelli made the decision to take Dobnak out for reliever Caleb Thielbar to face Matt Carpenter with the bases loaded. Thielbar walked Carpenter on a full count to bring in the last of Dobnak’s five earned runs.

And while the inning wasn’t pretty Thielbar ended it on a positive note, getting Matt Wieters to pop out in an epic 19 pitch battle.

 

Rooked on a Feeling

The sky is blue, the grass is green, Brent Rooker is very strong….and Dick Bremer can see into the future. Bremer used his crystal ball in the 2nd inning to predict Rooker’s first MLB home run, which he piped to the left field bullpen off a 2-2 Daniel Ponce de Leon fastball to put the Twins up 2-0.

 

Rooker’s first homer comes just a day after fellow newcomer Ryan Jeffers hit his first MLB bomb against the White Sox.

 

Bullpen Blues

Dobnak wasn’t the only sour spot for the Twins pitching staff. The relief staff went through five pitchers following Dobnak’s early exit. Sean Poppen, who came in for just a third of an inning after Jorge Alcala left with a leg injury was the only Twins pitcher to not record a walk. The entire staff issued eight walks in the game, including Dobnak’s two hit batters.

 

Cruz Control

It’s a shame that the Twins' pitching staff wasn’t able to limit the damage not only early in the game, but late as well. Nelson Cruz launched his 15th homer of the year in the 7th inning to tie Mike Trout and Fernando Tatis Jr for the league lead.

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

Download attachment: Bullpen.png

 

 

Postgame Pint

Seth, Matthew Taylor and David Youngs discussed the split with Twins Daily's virtual live audience. You can join them next time at PostgamePint.com.

 

 

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[Danchat]

It's too bad we don't play more doubleheaders, because Cruz always hits a HR in both games!

 

I hope Alcala is OK; and I'm kinda done with Poppen. I wouldn't mind if he is DFA'd and they claim a waiver wire arm to potentially fix. Though I guess it is getting late in the season to be tinkering with guys like that. Maybe Duran/Colina/Chalmers in the pen then.

[twinbythebay]

I really wish Rocco had a quicker hook when Dobnak was melting down in the third inning, especially since he was pitching on three days of rest. They have two days off after today, so there was no reason for him not to use all of his best bullpen arms.

 

After Pineda's great start yesterday and Dobnak's dud today, I don't think there's any question that the playoff rotation will be Maeda, Pineda, and Berrios (not necessarily in that order).

[HrbieFan]

The coaches have been overprotective on SPs getting their rest, why the change today? Key was Wieters and that ridiculous AB, seemed to get into Dobnak's head. Much needed day of rest coming

[mikelink45]

I really thought the Umpire was squeezing Dobnak's strike zone in that inning.  Dob did not help himself, but the electronic strike zone would not have had him walk some of the batters.

 

Sorry that we did not get the second win, but very pleased with Rooker.  And Cruz is the most dominate DH since the days of Ortiz.  So great to see.  I was even thinking - is Cruz entering HOF territory?  I know he did not produce as much when he was younger and 400 HRs is no longer the automatic mark for power consideration- now it is 500.  So I went on Baseball Reference and checked all the HOF projections - I am afraid he is not close.  Still a favorite of mine. 

[AceWrigley]

Both the Tribe and Pale Hose lost so that is good!

[rdehring]

What a great day for Rooker to get his first bomba, seeing he grew up a Cardinal fan. 

 

Not worried about Dobnak as the movement of his pitches that caused his problem yesterday is also the movement that makes him effective. Gotta expect one or two crappy starts every season.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I was even thinking - is Cruz entering HOF territory?  I know he did not produce as much when he was younger and 400 HRs is no longer the automatic mark for power consideration- now it is 500.  So I went on Baseball Reference and checked all the HOF projections - I am afraid he is not close.  Still a favorite of mine. 

Yeah, being a DH who didn't didn't become dominant offensively until age ~33 is a hard recipe for the hall of fame!

 

But I'd certainly like to see the Twins enhance his case with some postseason heroics this year.

[Joey P]

"Rooked on a Feeling
The sky is blue, the grass is green, Brent Rooker is very strong….and Dick Bremer can see into the future. Bremer used his crystal ball in the 2nd inning to predict Rooker’s first MLB home run, which he piped to the left field bullpen off a 2-2 Daniel Ponce de Leon fastball to put the Twins up 2-0."

 

Uh... So Did Cory Provis on Twins Radio. Must have been in the media guide, lol.

[Shaitan]

I could not figure out Dobnak's box score. I missed the HBP. Thanks!

 

I wonder if this was a test run for postseason: seeing how Dobnak performs on short rest. I get the feeling Rocco is managing "September baseball" right now, keeping his eye on the prize more than the current day's game.

[stringer bell]

I just don't know how the short rest effected Dobnak. His problem was getting the ball in the strike zone and additionally the two hit batters really exacerbated an already bad situation. He had his normal velocity and the ball appears to be moving (too much?), but it was an ineffective outing. Reminds me of what happened to Hill a couple starts ago, where he had zipped through a couple innings and then couldn't find the zone.

[stringer bell]

 

Both the Tribe and Pale Hose lost so that is good!

While the second game has to be a disappointment for the Twins, both Cleveland and Chicago had leads late and lost to inferior teams. 

 

If you're a "glass half full" person, the Twins come home after the doubleheader a half game closer to both of the teams they are chasing, having played on the road against an above .500 team. If you're a "glass half empty" type, the Twins had a chance to come home in first place facing a pitcher who has never won a start in 17 tries (some as an opener) and they had a 2-0 lead in a 7-inning game. 

[joefish]

That not 19 pitch at bat was not Dobnak's. Right? It was Thielbar's.

[David Youngs]

Correct! It was the Norhtfield, Minnesota native's.

That not 19 pitch at bat was not Dobnak's. Right? It was Thielbar's.

 

[rdehring]

 

While the second game has to be a disappointment for the Twins, both Cleveland and Chicago had leads late and lost to inferior teams. 

 

If you're a "glass half full" person, the Twins come home after the doubleheader a half game closer to both of the teams they are chasing, having played on the road against an above .500 team. If you're a "glass half empty" type, the Twins had a chance to come home in first place facing a pitcher who has never won a start in 17 tries (some as an opener) and they had a 2-0 lead in a 7-inning game. 

The bad news is that while we have two off days, the Indians play two and the Sox play one. So we could be back to 1.5 games out when the Tribe comes to town on Friday...or not.

 

[rv78]

I'm tired of Baldelli's decision making. So in the 2nd game of a doubleheader we need to rest Arraez, Buxton and Polonco and play the 3 duds of Marwin, Wade and Adrianza? Don't get me wrong, in a long 162 game season you want to keep your guys fresh and well rested, I get it. But this is far from a 162 game schedule and with 2 off days in front of you there is NO REASON NOT to put your best lineup on the field every game. Has Buxton played so many games already that he needed to rest? Is Polonco not going into the games on Tuesday as one of your hottest hitters? Is Arraez so exhausted he cannot play 14 innings in 1 day? 

Yes Dobnak layed an egg, but Baldelli's decision to constantly give at bats to guys that are not performing and producing runs very well cost us the game as well. With those 3 in the lineup maybe we score another 3 or 4 runs and win instead of lose. 

[insagt1]

Buxton is so key to Twins success. Its very clear they are babying him...the guy is SO fragile, he is just one play away from the injured list. But he is SO good. We need  him to play. Marwin is gassed and Adrianza isn't much of a hitter. Wade OTOH isn't bad. I don't mind seeing him in there. And with a lineup that features several k-men, I would like to see Astudillo play more. He is a contact hitter extraordinaire. I know most here don't like him because of his 'd'..but right now our catchers aren't producing much offense. Plus he is just plain fun to watch. But I do see both sides of the argument.

 

The division will probably come into sharp focus after the Twins play 3 against the Tribe followed by 4 against the WhiteSox. Those 7 games are going to be intense. all 3 teams will be in the playoffs, so only the seeding and 'home field' is at stake as to whether they finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Of course there is always bragging rights.

 

Also fun to watch: the Yankees losing 15 of 20 (including 3 straight to the charging Orioles...who just might unseat the Payroll for the 8th playoff spot. What a story that would be. O's are 1/2 game back and have 4 to play with the Yanks coming up.

[Doctor Gast]

It was a shame that Dobnak went on a short rest. On the Twins side it`d have greatly benefited them if they hadn`t agreed to the double-header. Dobnak was abnormally all over the place, IMO Dobnak would`ve pitched much better if he had one more day rest.

[h2oface]

I don't know why they let these two make up double headers happen, and so close to each other. And then 2 days off. Goofy.

 

I don't care if there was a day less rest for Dobnak. That never stopped the pitchers in the 60s and 70s from performing, and all season in a 4 man rotation. Sandy Koufax pitched game 7 against us in the 1965 Series on 2 - at the end of a 162 game season! Right. Dobnak, and nobody, is Koufax. That's not the point, Captains Obvious. There is never an excuse for the HBP walk HBP walk sequence (right, Baldelli!). 2 of the last 3 outings signal the beginning of the end of the smoke and mirrors around Dobnak. I sure hope the Maeda, Berrios, Pineda trio is backed by an improving Hill, and not Dobnak, in the playoffs. I don't even know if Odorizzi will be around. Pretty bummed he is absent virtually all season.

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

 

I'm tired of Baldelli's decision making. So in the 2nd game of a doubleheader we need to rest Arraez, Buxton and Polonco and play the 3 duds of Marwin, Wade and Adrianza? Don't get me wrong, in a long 162 game season you want to keep your guys fresh and well rested, I get it. But this is far from a 162 game schedule and with 2 off days in front of you there is NO REASON NOT to put your best lineup on the field every game. Has Buxton played so many games already that he needed to rest? Is Polonco not going into the games on Tuesday as one of your hottest hitters? Is Arraez so exhausted he cannot play 14 innings in 1 day? 

Yes Dobnak layed an egg, but Baldelli's decision to constantly give at bats to guys that are not performing and producing runs very well cost us the game as well. With those 3 in the lineup maybe we score another 3 or 4 runs and win instead of lose. 

Yeah, me too. Had the infield not been in with 1 out, bases loaded with a ground ball pitcher on the mound, we escape down by 1 in the 3rd. I have disagreed with some if his decisions this year & last including how he managed the pitching in the 19 ALDS